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From this much follows. One consequence is a widespread belief that no one should have to pay for water. The Byzantine emperor Justinian declared in the 6th century that "by natural law" air, running water, the sea and seashore were "common to all." Many Indians agree, seeing groundwater in particular as a "democratic resource." In Africa it is said that "even the jackal deserves to drink."
这一观念产生出了很多后果。其一是人们普遍相信，谁都不必为用水付账。拜占庭君主查士丁尼在六世纪宣布，“根据自然法则”，空气、自来水、海洋和海岸均为“公有”。拜占庭君主查士丁尼在六世纪宣布，“根据自然法则”，空气、自来水、海洋和海岸均为“公有”。在非洲，有这样一种说法，“即便是胡狼也应该有饮水的权利”。
A second consequence is that water often has a sacred or mystical quality that is invested in deities like Gong Gong and Osiris and rivers like the Jordan and the Ganges. Throughout history, man's dependence on water has made him live near it or organize access to it. Water is in his body and in his soul. It has provided not just life and food but a means of transport, a way of keeping clean, a mechanism for removing sewage, a home for fish and other animals, a medium with which to skate and sail, a thing of beauty to provide inspiration, to gaze upon and to enjoy. No wonder a commodity with so many qualities, uses and associations has proved so difficult to organize.
另一种后果是水往往被赋予了一种神圣或是神秘的性质，这种性质体现在共工和奥西里斯那样的神灵以及约旦河和恒河那样的江河身上。纵观历史，人对水的依赖使他们依水而居或者想方设法获得它。水存在于人体内，亦存在于人的灵魂中。水不仅维持人们的生命，给人们提供食品，还为人们提供了一种交通工具、一种保持清洁的方法、一种排污的机制，一个鱼类和其他动物的家园，一个能让人们溜冰和航海的媒介，一种能赋予人们灵感、供人观看、供人欣赏的美丽的东西。不难理解，一个有如此多种特性和用途又能激起如此多联想的商品该是多么难以管理。
